With the winter settling in and autumn behind us, LM bids farewell to fall festivities and welcomes winter traditions. Winter—the season of giving—is the perfect time to give back to your community and help those in need. During the month of December, LM students bring in non-perishable goods and supplies to support the charity food drive known as Winterfest. These items range from canned goods to paper towels and benefit the Saints Memorial Baptist Church food pantry in Bryn Mawr, an organization that provides relief to families in need within our community.
Every winter, without fail, the LM community comes together to collect thousands of donations, strengthening the character of the students by promoting compassion and altruism. But why is it so successful? Are LM students simply that generous and caring, or is there a hidden incentive? Perhaps, a promise made by teachers? The truth is that LM teachers provide in-class incentives to encourage students to donate items for those in need. Teachers offer grade boosts, test cancellations, or class spent completing winter activities as a method to urge students to purchase canned foods. Although these incentives may seem innocent, they undermine the good deed and charity behind donating and should be used with restrictions at LM.
A common argument that favors the use of incentives is that they help increase donations, ultimately benefiting those in need. There’s no denying that raising donations for those who are less fortunate is extremely important. As explained by Meryl Grandwetter ’28, “Winterfest is an opportunity for those who are more fortunate to help support [our] community.” However, relying on extra credit incentives creates an arrangement where students can exchange canned goods for grades, turning generosity into a transaction.
Fundraisers are meant to be an act of kindness passed from one person to another, benefiting the receiver, not the donor. As Grandwetter put it, “knowledge about other people’s situations should be able to invoke empathy from students and from that, people who are more fortunate should feel the pressure to not only be grateful, but help others” a reminder the generosity should not come from academics. Grades are meant to represent a person’s academic ability, not their character or consideration. Intermixing the two detracts from the meaning of Winterfest because it shifts the focus of donations from helping those in need, to boosting the giver, which undermines the reason for fundraisers. Additionally, the exchange between grades and donations wrongfully benefits students academically. When teachers promise rewards like grade boosts to encourage involvement, they impact students’ grades in ways that do not reflect their understanding of the class or material.
Beyond academics, these incentives also provide an unfair advantage to wealthier families, accentuating the flaws of this practice. Students whose families have more financial freedom are, in essence, able to “purchase” their grade, by having the ability to contribute more donations. Simultaneously, it places pressure on students whose families cannot afford to donate as much, raising ethical concerns, as academic performance should never be linked to a family’s financial ability.
Nevertheless, Winterfest is an annual tradition at LM and should not suffer as a result of limiting extra-credit incentives. Instead of offering grade boosts, all of LM staff should consider setting up donation bins inside the classroom, not just select teachers. As suggested by Paige Kostinsky ’28, “[placing bins] in more accessible places like the atriums, main office, and in all classrooms,” would make the act of generosity convenient towards students, encouraging the student body to contribute to Winterfest and support the LM community.
Another appropriate form of encouragement could be a fun activity the day before break. This option would appeal to many students, allowing them to ease into their vacation without impacting grades and while preserving the true purpose of Winterfest.
By replacing incentive-based fundraisers with accessible donation boxes, Winterfest can become a genuinely successful donation drive, one that reflects the character and generosity of LM students and staff.
